i just got my new fz7 and took several shots. not impressed with any. they are not sharp, like i'm wearing my old glasses or something. i'm talking about inside , outside, zoom, macro, everything. my old nikon coolpix 885 is far superior image wise. this is my fourth digital and has the worst image quality yet. i also have a dslr that is light years ahead but bought this for skiing shots. did i miss a button or something? the "clear" button? j

As was said posting some photos will help......and while the 885 was a good camera it is not better than the FZ7....... Now the Image quality from the DSLR is another matter...but it will not blow it away......there is a difference but dollar for dollar the FZ7 is hard to beat.

There are a couple things that come to mind but they may or may not be your problem.

Minimum focus distance at full zoom is 7 feet.

I would turn off Continuous auto focus

and I would not use the 9 pt autofocus...it is too likely it picks the wrong thing to focus on...I use one area High speed ,but get away from the 3 or 9 pt focus.

I had the same problem with my FZ30 until a Panasonic rep suggested I change the settings back to the factory defaults. You do this in the Setup menu. Someone else reported the same problem with an FZ7 on another forum and the problem was resolved when she set her camera to the factory default settings. Give it a try and let us know what happens.

I'm curious about your thinking. I would have suggested turning it on. My FZ10 is almost always on continuous AF and I find it very useful in any dynamic situation. I usually pre-focus/pre-meter with a half push and continuous AF allows the camera to update the focus if things move, yet it still gives me the almost instant shutter response.

My pocket camera doesn't have a continuous AF and I really miss it, especially shooting my perpetual motion rugrat grandkids. I get a lot more out of focus shots without continuous AF.

took some shots this morning and it is doing much better. i don't know what i was doing last night. it was dark by the time the battery was charged and i was shooting inside. it will take awhile to figure out what the dumbed down scene modes actually do to the settings, like "baby 1, food, etc."
i think for skiing it will be great. thanks, j

The more I play with my FZ7 the better shots I'm getting. Sharp photo's and hands down the best camera I've ever had the pleasure to experience. Just have to get familiar with it and you'll find it to be powerful yet small and light.

I just do not believe CAF on the FZ cameras work at all....certainly not like on a DSLR......and I do find it interferes with the way I take photos...

I use it all the time with my D50 but find it to be a royal pain on the FZs.

But it would certainly fall under the category of "If it works for you ...use it"

I was only suggesting tonot use it until you start getting good photos and then form an opinion as to weatheryou find it a help or a hindrance.

To be perfectly honest I came by the decision that it did not work when I first got my FZ10 and have not given it much of a try since then. Maybe it works better with the newer cameras.I did try it a couple times with the FZ20 and I had it on by mistake with the FZ30 and quickly turned it off.

May be it has to do with old dogs and new tricks

[b]pre-focus/pre-meter with a half push and continuous AF allows the camera to update the focus if things move, yet it still gives me the almost instant shutter response.

My pocket camera doesn't have a continuous AF and I really miss it, especially shooting my perpetual motion rugrat grandkids. I get a lot more out of focus shots without continuous AF.

i just shot a 10 minute video and it won't download to my computer (mac ibook). i've shot shorter vids with no problem. it plays in camera o.k. except i have some vertical lines. using 30 fps, 1gb, 133speed card. any ideas here? j